(Entirely unrelated to this post since the ice creams that follow aren’t GF, but it’s too good not to mention: did you know there are tax deductions for celiacs in the US? I had no idea.
Found via BabyCakes NYC.)

A charming Tofutti power that be got in touch recently to see if I’d be game for trying a few of their frozen products. Considering I’ve had a hankering for ice cream all summer long without ever buying some of that wonderful cherry chocolate chip soy ice cream from Trader Joe’s, I caved in and said yes to reviewing a couple of treats I hadn’t yet managed to find locally. Namely their Cookies’N Cream Cuties, and a pint of Better Pecan ice cream.

A little bit of personal history first, feel free to catch a power nap: Tofutti was the very first brand of store-bought vegan products I turned to when going vegan in 2005. I used to constantly purchase their (all vegan) cheese slices, cream cheese, sour cream, and ice cream sandwiches, the world-famous Cuties. I’ve cut down a bit on eating convenience food items these days but I still buy them on occasion out of nostalgia and because they’re still as good, or maybe even better, than they were back then.
It’s probably sort of mushy to say, but I’m thankful for these products having made my transition to veganism easier by helping this food-loving nut realize that going vegan didn’t mean I’d never get to eat fun foods again.
(You can wake up now. Psst, you drooled a little.)

If you didn’t already know, not all of Tofutti’s products are vegan-friendly. Most of them are but the blintzes aren’t. So keep your eyes peeled when you do your shopping if you’re vegan too.

Now for the review: I started with the Cuties, which are truer to their name than anything you know. You’ve probably had them before too anyway, but they’re pillow-like ice cream sandwiches that are thankfully not cloyingly sweet. The chocolate wafer sticks to your fingers as you eat, a characteristic shared with most non-vegan ice cream sandwiches too if memory serves right. It’s been a while.
I had only tried the Chocolate and Vanilla flavors before, so I was stoked to expand my Cutie horizons. Cookies’N Cream is every bit as delicious as you’d think. I’ll take any of these flavors anytime, anywhere, because I have yet to meet a vegan ice cream (sandwich or not) that can take the crown away from the reigning Cutie queens.

As far as the pint of Better Pecan goes, I knew I’d be in for a treat as soon as I removed the lid: the smell, color, and texture were outstanding. I won’t tell you how quickly the whole pint was inhaled but let’s just say that four servings = not even close. Lucky for me, the other member of this household doesn’t like pecans so I had it all to myself. Speaking of pecans: got to love the fact Tofutti isn’t exactly stingy with the quantity of nuts in there considering how costly those are these days.

The ice cream can easily be scooped as soon as it comes out of the freezer thanks to the use of guar, locust bean and cellulose gums. This is great of course, but I tend to think that ice cream makers sometimes use a little too much of the gums in some of their flavors, making it so that once the ice cream starts to melt it becomes just a teeny tiny bit slimy. Which was the case with this pint.
It’s a minor inconvenience considering how fantastic the flavor is, and it’s quite possible that other people might not even notice it or if they do, wouldn’t see it as an issue. I’m not exactly difficult but I’m sensitive to this for whatever reason.

Would I buy either one of these products? I would, I did, and I will again. The gum issue in the pint was worth mentioning since hey, this is a product review, but not big enough of a problem to keep me away from more Better Pecan and other pint flavors ASAP.